Best food sources of Vitamin K2

[Anonymous]

I've gone down the rabbithole of heart healthy vitamins and am learning about Vitamin K2 (not K1) esp. MK7.

If anyone is trying to increase the amount of this vitamin in their diet without supplments, please share your ideas!

I know about natto but... besides that:

1) Jarlsburg cheese
2) egg yolks from eggs from pastured chickens
3) butter from grassfed cows (Kerrygold? Costco Pastured Milk butter?)
4) beef from grassfed cows
5) chicken and turkey meat - free range? Pastured?

All in all I think learning to love natto would be my most cost effective way to increase K2 in my diet, but the other items above will be more expensive but more acceptable to family members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've gone down the rabbithole of heart healthy vitamins and am learning about Vitamin K2 (not K1) esp. MK7.

If anyone is trying to increase the amount of this vitamin in their diet without supplments, please share your ideas!

I know about natto but... besides that:

1) Jarlsburg cheese
2) egg yolks from eggs from pastured chickens
3) butter from grassfed cows (Kerrygold? Costco Pastured Milk butter?)
4) beef from grassfed cows
5) chicken and turkey meat - free range? Pastured?

All in all I think learning to love natto would be my most cost effective way to increase K2 in my diet, but the other items above will be more expensive but more acceptable to family members.

Beef, liver… meat is cheap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've gone down the rabbithole of heart healthy vitamins and am learning about Vitamin K2 (not K1) esp. MK7.

If anyone is trying to increase the amount of this vitamin in their diet without supplments, please share your ideas!

I know about natto but... besides that:

1) Jarlsburg cheese
2) egg yolks from eggs from pastured chickens
3) butter from grassfed cows (Kerrygold? Costco Pastured Milk butter?)
4) beef from grassfed cows
5) chicken and turkey meat - free range? Pastured?

All in all I think learning to love natto would be my most cost effective way to increase K2 in my diet, but the other items above will be more expensive but more acceptable to family members.

Beef, liver… meat is cheap

That’s for that reminder! Haven’t had liver in years but I’m hoping to pick up at farmer market today!

[Anonymous]

I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

I am not a shill for Jarlsberg cheese or anything like that. I just fell down the rabbit hole of Vit K2.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/08/13/this-cheese-could-be-the-latest-superfood-with-unique-properties-to-improve-bone-health#:~:text=Blood%20fats%20increased%20slightly%20in,switch%20from%20Camembert%20to%20Jarlsberg.&text=The%20amount%20of%20glucose%20in,in%20people%20who%20ate%20Camembert.

Every six weeks, blood samples were taken from all the participants to check for important proteins, osteocalcin, and a peptide (PINP) which helps bones renew themselves and stay young.

The samples showed key signs of bones renewing themselves and of vitamin K2 having increased after six weeks among people who ate a serving of Jarlsberg cheese daily, whereas for those who ate Camembert, PINP levels stayed the same while other indicators of bone health fell slightly.

However, levels of both PINP and the chemical and biological indicators rose significantly after these participants switched to Jarlsberg.

Blood fats increased slightly in both groups, but cholesterol levels fell significantly in people once they made the switch from Camembert to Jarlsberg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

Not me. It’s very easy to make so delicious. Make some beef bacon (I don’t eat pork) and save the grease. Sous vide chicken liver for 90 minutes at 157 degrees and chill. With an iron skillet, fry it all up together (livers and bacon grease) and ghee. While it’s hot, use immersion blender to purée the whole thing and pour into a mold to chill. Easy pate

[Anonymous]

You are better off taking a high quality K2 supplement made from food sources (Vitamin code RAW makes a good one)

The amount of K2 needed for cardiovascular health is hard to achieve through foods that are readily available and aren’t loaded in saturated animal fat. Aim for 100 mcg per day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

I am not a shill for Jarlsberg cheese or anything like that. I just fell down the rabbit hole of Vit K2.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/08/13/this-cheese-could-be-the-latest-superfood-with-unique-properties-to-improve-bone-health#:~:text=Blood%20fats%20increased%20slightly%20in,switch%20from%20Camembert%20to%20Jarlsberg.&text=The%20amount%20of%20glucose%20in,in%20people%20who%20ate%20Camembert.

Every six weeks, blood samples were taken from all the participants to check for important proteins, osteocalcin, and a peptide (PINP) which helps bones renew themselves and stay young.

The samples showed key signs of bones renewing themselves and of vitamin K2 having increased after six weeks among people who ate a serving of Jarlsberg cheese daily, whereas for those who ate Camembert, PINP levels stayed the same while other indicators of bone health fell slightly.

However, levels of both PINP and the chemical and biological indicators rose significantly after these participants switched to Jarlsberg.

Blood fats increased slightly in both groups, but cholesterol levels fell significantly in people once they made the switch from Camembert to Jarlsberg.

I don't eat beef, so that is out.

Adding Jarlsberg cheese to the shopping list though! Thanks OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

Not me. It’s very easy to make so delicious. Make some beef bacon (I don’t eat pork) and save the grease. Sous vide chicken liver for 90 minutes at 157 degrees and chill. With an iron skillet, fry it all up together (livers and bacon grease) and ghee. While it’s hot, use immersion blender to purée the whole thing and pour into a mold to chill. Easy pate

I'll take your word for it that it is delicious, but nothing about your description sounds "very easy to make"!! That's a LOT of steps, and you need to have a way to sous vide the chicken livers too? Then an immersion blender and then a mold?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are better off taking a high quality K2 supplement made from food sources (Vitamin code RAW makes a good one)

The amount of K2 needed for cardiovascular health is hard to achieve through foods that are readily available and aren’t loaded in saturated animal fat. Aim for 100 mcg per day.

Is it hard to achieve? Is the saturated fat really a concern?

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/060113p54.shtml#:~:text=Accordingly%2C%20subjects%20in%20the%20Rotterdam,of%20heart%2Dprotective%20HDL%20cholesterol.

Many of the best food sources of vitamin K2 also are high in saturated fat, which has been accused of contributing to heart disease without adequate evidence to support this claim. A rigorous meta-analysis, including 347,747 subjects followed for up to 23 years, published in the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition clearly showed that there’s a lack of significant evidence for blaming saturated fats for the development of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular diseases. Accordingly, subjects in the Rotterdam Study with the highest vitamin K2 intake consumed more total and saturated fats and also had lower total cholesterol values and higher levels of heart-protective HDL cholesterol. Therefore, RDs shouldn’t be afraid to recommend foods high in vitamin K2 despite their higher saturated fat content while monitoring their clients’ cardiovascular risk profile, especially if they emphasize high-quality, grass-fed and pastured animal sources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are better off taking a high quality K2 supplement made from food sources (Vitamin code RAW makes a good one)

The amount of K2 needed for cardiovascular health is hard to achieve through foods that are readily available and aren’t loaded in saturated animal fat. Aim for 100 mcg per day.

Is it hard to achieve? Is the saturated fat really a concern?

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/060113p54.shtml#:~:text=Accordingly%2C%20subjects%20in%20the%20Rotterdam,of%20heart%2Dprotective%20HDL%20cholesterol.

Many of the best food sources of vitamin K2 also are high in saturated fat, which has been accused of contributing to heart disease without adequate evidence to support this claim. A rigorous meta-analysis, including 347,747 subjects followed for up to 23 years, published in the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition clearly showed that there’s a lack of significant evidence for blaming saturated fats for the development of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular diseases. Accordingly, subjects in the Rotterdam Study with the highest vitamin K2 intake consumed more total and saturated fats and also had lower total cholesterol values and higher levels of heart-protective HDL cholesterol. Therefore, RDs shouldn’t be afraid to recommend foods high in vitamin K2 despite their higher saturated fat content while monitoring their clients’ cardiovascular risk profile, especially if they emphasize high-quality, grass-fed and pastured animal sources.

Eating a lot of red meat, processed meats and pork is associated with several GI cancers. If you really want to only get K2 through foods, stick with cheeses, natto (if you can find), eggs, poultry

[Anonymous]

Lived in Japan and travel there frequently. Man, I can’t do natto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I'd rather eat natto than liver, though.

Thrilled to learn about Jarlsberg cheese being heart healthy!

I am not a shill for Jarlsberg cheese or anything like that. I just fell down the rabbit hole of Vit K2.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/08/13/this-cheese-could-be-the-latest-superfood-with-unique-properties-to-improve-bone-health#:~:text=Blood%20fats%20increased%20slightly%20in,switch%20from%20Camembert%20to%20Jarlsberg.&text=The%20amount%20of%20glucose%20in,in%20people%20who%20ate%20Camembert.

Every six weeks, blood samples were taken from all the participants to check for important proteins, osteocalcin, and a peptide (PINP) which helps bones renew themselves and stay young.

The samples showed key signs of bones renewing themselves and of vitamin K2 having increased after six weeks among people who ate a serving of Jarlsberg cheese daily, whereas for those who ate Camembert, PINP levels stayed the same while other indicators of bone health fell slightly.

However, levels of both PINP and the chemical and biological indicators rose significantly after these participants switched to Jarlsberg.

Blood fats increased slightly in both groups, but cholesterol levels fell significantly in people once they made the switch from Camembert to Jarlsberg.

I don't eat beef, so that is out.

Adding Jarlsberg cheese to the shopping list though! Thanks OP!

More cheeses and K2 content listed here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946231

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

More cheeses and K2 content listed here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946231

Interestingly, raw milk cheeses from local farms in the study (Dutch) come out very high in K2.

Also:

When comparing cheeses from different countries, remarkable differences were observed (Table 2). Notably, cheeses produced in Mediterranean countries (feta, mozzarella, gorgonzola, pecorino) were low in menaquinone content with Parmesan cheese containing almost negligible amounts (3 ng/g). French cheeses, Brie and Boursin, had low vitamin K2 content (125 ng/g and 111 ng/g, respectively), whereas it was considerably higher Camembert and Roquefort (681 ng/g and 381 ng/g, respectively). The highest content of menaquinones in French cheeses was measured in Münster cheese (originating from the Vosges and made from raw, unpasteurized milk) with 801 ng/g total vitamin K2.

Again ... Munster cheese made from raw milk had outstandingly high Vit K2.

The study also publishes K2 levels in meat and fermented vegetables. It is clear that cheese is really the only source of Vitamin K2-MK7 in our western diet and most cheeses don't have a lot of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

More cheeses and K2 content listed here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nah .gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946231

Interestingly, raw milk cheeses from local farms in the study (Dutch) come out very high in K2.

Also:

When comparing cheeses from different countries, remarkable differences were observed (Table 2). Notably, cheeses produced in Mediterranean countries (feta, mozzarella, gorgonzola, pecorino) were low in menaquinone content with Parmesan cheese containing almost negligible amounts (3 ng/g). French cheeses, Brie and Boursin, had low vitamin K2 content (125 ng/g and 111 ng/g, respectively), whereas it was considerably higher Camembert and Roquefort (681 ng/g and 381 ng/g, respectively). The highest content of menaquinones in French cheeses was measured in Münster cheese (originating from the Vosges and made from raw, unpasteurized milk) with 801 ng/g total vitamin K2.

Again ... Munster cheese made from raw milk had outstandingly high Vit K2.

The study also publishes K2 levels in meat and fermented vegetables. It is clear that cheese is really the only source of Vitamin K2-MK7 in our western diet and most cheeses don't have a lot of it.

The study was commissioned by the Dutch dairy Assn so its interesting but…